Lex Luger talks gimmick, Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart, more

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On the 8-13-13 edition of SNS UnPlugged with “The Bronx-Father” Tony J. Mirabella and “Mr. Money on the Mic” Jeff Jackson exclusively on the SNS Radio Network (www.snsradionetwork.com) former 2 Time WCW World Champion and Author “The Total Package”Lex Luger stopped by for a near 1 hour conversation about his new autobiography “Wrestling with the Devil” and moments from his storied career in pro wrestling.

Here are a few highlights from the interview.

Lex is asked by JJ about the transition from the Narcissist to All American Lex Luger and was he ready to change the gimmick?

“I was totally shocked, I loved being the Narcissist …I was having a lot of fun with that. You know we were traveling heavily on the road at that time I had a 300 day a year schedule back then and I was called into the home office for a meeting with Vince McMahon in his office…which was highly unusual to be called off the road. I felt like a kid getting called into the principals office…thinking to myself …Man what did I do wrong. He called me in and it wasn’t really up for discussion …He said we’re going to do this , We’re going to do a bus tour and he laid the whole thing out…I walked out there thinking Wow….He was so confident that it would succeed . I asked him “Do you really think I can go from posing in front of mirrors to becoming Mr. Red , White, and Blue. all in 1 clean swoop ..Vince said…You watch. The Intrepid thing came off really great , it went really well it had a great reaction , the bus tour was really well received. Vince is a master strategist and psychologist it was actually a very successful tour.”

JJ asks a listener question about his thoughts on teaming with Davey Boy Smith as the Allied Powers

“I loved it …Davey and I were like 2 peas in the pod , we traveled together…we loved training together in the gym, We would eat lots of chicken breasts ,Steak and protein… When we went to Europe we would stay with Davey Boys family and drive around in his green Jaguar Sedan..or take the bus…man Davey Boy was a funny guy…him and Owen Hart…They were 2 of the funniest guys in the WWE . On those long road trips Davey was a great guy to hang around with especially on long trips away from our families…I really miss that guy and Owen as well. I had a lot of fun with those guys…alot of great memories inside of the ring…and outside of the ring.”

JJ asks if Owen Hart ever ribbed him

“He used to every night he would wrestle against Davey and I…I would shoot him off the ropes and (Owen) he would say “Press Slam me” So id shoot him off the ropes and he would Spidermonkey me and wouldn’t let me press slam him. Then he would have me tag Davey in …and Davey Boy would shoot him off the ropes and Owen would not only let him Press Slam him …but he would do like 10 reps before he press slammed him….and Davey Boy would just look over at me and smile…they hit me with that almost every night.I used to be like …you guys…lol…I swear…they were always doing stuff like that …they made it fun , they really did.”

JJ asks a question from Andy Knowles of the Pro Wrestling Rewind about the price of his success and the toll it took on his life and would things have been different if he had found God sooner in his life

“As far as physical pain we all know that theres gonna be that…I played football all those years…for 15 years in the ring I averaged over 300 matches a year…so 4 or 5 thousand matches…So I knew physically I would have some pain afterward…I don’t regret that I loved football and I loved Wrestling…I’m glad the guys today dont wrestle as many matches now but I didn’t really know any different at the time … I really managed to stay injury free till after my career ended… . I had 1 bicep injury and never missed a match in 15 years. I did have some cumulative injuries afterwards .Emotionally …however my wrestling career was like 4th of July fireworks for me from the start till the day it ended for me..I loved it…loved the guys…loved the fans . I made some very poor choices outside the ring that led to pain not only for myself …even more so from those closest to me , my family, my wife…my daughter…Elizabeth …there were a lot of tragic consequences in my life and I have only my self to blame ….I was so stubborn and so prideful…I always thought I could turn things around and until I got down on my knees and acknowledged my creator and realized God was God and I am not…that was a real turning point for me…it was very difficult for me to do to make Jesus Christ my lord and savoir …but April 23, 2006 was a real supernatural transformation for me and what God has done for my life . Since then …how he has brought me through…my physical injuries like my spinal cord injury
has been absolutely amazing…so that was a big turning point for me on April 23, 2006 no doubt.”

These are just a few highlights from the nearly hour long conversation with Lex Luger …other topics include the origin of the name Lex Luger, who coined him the total package, the feud in WWE with Tatanka, his 2 World title reigns , his time in the Wolfpac and so much more.